On Snow Cones, Wizard Costumes & Rubber Sheets

We've enjoyed the last of summer with much squealing, laughter and joy. For the fourth year in a row, Bramble Berry has taken over the Bellingham Bells Game. The kids love it because there are cookies and this year, there was even a bouncy house! Happy kiddos.

Training is going well for the half marathons. My friend Patrice is super pregnant. She'll be over 8 months by the time we do our run for real, assuming her baby stays inside her belly for long enough to finish our two half marathons.

 

Patrice (the diabolical friend that got me into running long distances) just gave us an awesome box of dress up clothes that Jamisen is loving! They're just a little too big for Lily but Jamisen is embracing his flair for the dramatic with dresses (or is that a wizard costume ) and pink high heels. They also have been enjoying snow cones at the farmer's market which is basically sugar water squirted over shaved ice. The people at the farmer's market are making a small fortune and good for them for being ingenious at their choice of products to ensnare passerby. 

 

I know that every other blog post talks about how creative the kids are and that's because, well, they are. They both are embracing all things tactile, arts and craft related. Here, we made play dough from scratch and then overlaid a clear plastic mat on different scenes so the kids could sculpt things that were scene appropriate. What you are looking at in the photo is eggs, donuts and bacon for the breakfast scene that is under the mat. Jamisen also made a whale card that he is proudly displaying. 

The kiddos still fight going to sleep nightly and that remains a stressful hour for all of us but mornings are so fun. The kids wake up happy, rarin' to go and just adorable. Lily loves her footie pajamas (hand-me-downs from Aunti Anamarie) and I'm dreading the day when she grows out of them. Jamisen is struggling with either willfully not getting up to go to the bathroom (and really, the bed is really comfy so I get the desire to not go to the bathroom in the middle of the night) or sleeping right through his walnut-sized bladder bursting; either way, he's generally naked in the mornings before we see the evidence of his wet, bloated night underwear. We'll get there ... I have faith.  But for now, we're thankful for waterproof sheet pads and giant pull up (padded) night underwear.

Lipstick. You're Doing It Wrong.

A) This is a glorious photo. Jamisen, you had a happy childhood. Look at this smile. Please quit billing us for your therapy. B) This is a horrible photo. Deer, you are stealing my plants and my happiness by eating all of my garden. Prepare to be thwarted next year when I put up a fence no less than 12 feet tall.

Jamisen loves dressing up. Here, he is wearing a skirt of clear green gauze and a hat of square. He looks a bit like a geisha, no?

 

In addition to dressing up, Jamisen also loves his music (so so so much!). Here he has Chris dancing a jig to his string band jamboree CD. He has since moved onto Bruce Springsteen (last week) and Michael Franti (this week). We are all grooooovin' to the message of love, peace and acceptance that Michael Franti has to share. I did get him the latest Josh Groban show tunes CD and he proclaimed, "Mamma, I do not like this CD" after previewing it (and this after thanking us for his Michael Franti CD in a sincere and thoughtful fashion). Allllllrighty then. Duly noted. No show tunes for this kid at present.

We have enjoyed the most amazing weekends at the lake this summer. The kiddos love the beach and Chris has dragged five hundred million bags of sand down to the beach so there's an actual beach for them to play on. A) Best husband in the world B) So sweet.

 

We have a dear friend (Lynn) that has a lake house on Lake Whatcom and she invited our kiddos and their bestie, Sasha, over for a play date. The redhead in the photo is Nanny McKenna who has loved our kiddos for four years. The adored the beach and the amazing floating thing. They also loved the snacks that Lynn served and have basically demanded a similar spread at home ever since that fated play date.

Little Lily had quite the fun time with my lipstick drawer this weekend. She's all girl. All mischief. All the time. Thank goodness this is all going to be over soon (right? I mean, this behavior cannot possibly continue into her teenage years. Right!????).

The Mortification

Much to the chagrin of every business friend I have and dearly love, I recently attended a fundraiser for Governor Jay Inslee and even more galling, did the 'ask' for him The 'ask' is the part of the program that is deeply uncomfortable for most attendees; the part where someone (in this case me) pulls at your heartstrings and sense of responsibility to ask you to give more money than you were planning on to help elect (or re-elect) the candidate in question. As horrifying as it is to my staunchly Republican friends (and family), I was honored to give a small speech talking about Gov Inslee's commitment to family planning, education and transportation infrastructure in Washington state.

Miss Lily ... oh my sweet sweet little Miss Lily. That look on her face? That is the look of pure mischief. The look of someone that knows she has gotten away with something and gotten away with it in a big big way. My dear friend Jody has two grown adult daughters. She ... likes? No, she tolerates children. She does have a soft spot in her heart for Lily or rather, she DID have a soft spot in her heart for Lily.

She invited Lily and I up for a lovely evening at her gorgeous Chuckanut home, behind a gate (a gate with crystals inlaid in it) and horses on the property. It was a lovely night with an incredible view and gorgeous sunset. We enjoyed some amazing Italian wine and talked while Lily examined all of Jody's crystals, tapestry and generally was the sweetest, most polite toddler that ever did live.

 After about an hour, Lily climbed up onto the high back chair by the bar area and started looking at the fish and playing with things on the counter. And, no sooner had I gone over to protect Lily from falling off the high barstool when she SHOVED (with all of her might) three (THREE!) wine full wine bottles over and off onto the floor. One glorious bottle of French Bordeaux broke all over the carpet. Jody and her boyfriend Jim James were gracious and cleaned it up and insisted we stay for dinner (in hindsight, we should have left). No sooner had I sat down to an amazing stacked caprese salad, grass-fed local bison burger on a toasted sourdough bread then we hear ... what's that? A bullhorn? We were utterly confused until we realized that Lily had found Jody's panic button and pushed it. Of course, the police couldn't get past the gate (oh, that gorgeous crystal inlaid gate) and had to hike over a mile up to her home. Where they had just arrived to save us from certain doom. With a bullhorn. To make their presence known.

It. Was. Mortifying.

Lily and I left shortly thereafter. We did go back the next day on a pilgramage to deliver a hand written apology note from Lily (that's her, creating the apology artwork - we did water soluble markers and sprayed water on the markers to make an actual watercolor), beautiful crystal soap from me and an amazing bottle of wine to replace the one that Lily had broken. 

 

I have not actually been so embarrassed as a parent in my four short years of being a parent. I pray that this is the worst mortification I will have to face as a parent but suspect otherwise. 

Jamisen took private swim lessons this summer and loved them. I'm trying to continue them for the school year but it's more difficult than you would think between two working parents and two nannies that refuse to get in the water with the kids.

My bestie Patrice and I went to a Kelly Clarkson concert in Seattle recently and it was loads of fun. We danced the night away and marveled on our good fortune and luck . Thank you UPS for the privilege. =)